[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 419 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 419

 To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws 
               relating to elections for Federal office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 1997

  Mrs. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Horn, Mr. Minge, and Mr. 
   Serrano) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws 
               relating to elections for Federal office.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Election Law Reform 
Commission Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF COMMISSION.

    There is established a commission to be known as the ``Federal 
Election Law Reform Commission'' (hereinafter in this Act referred to 
as the ``Commission''). The purposes of the Commission are to study the 
laws relating to elections for Federal office and to recommend reforms 
in those laws.

SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 8 members 
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, from among individuals who are not officers or employees of any 
government and who are specially qualified to serve on the Commission 
by reason of education, training, or experience. In making 
appointments, the President shall consult--
            (1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives with 
        respect to the appointment of 2 members;
            (2) the majority leader of the Senate with respect to the 
        appointment of 2 members;
            (3) the minority leader of the House of Representatives 
        with respect to the appointment of one member; and
            (4) the minority leader of the Senate with respect to the 
        appointment of one member.
    (b) Chairman.--At the time of the appointment, the President shall 
designate one member of the Commission as Chairman of the Commission.
    (c) Terms.--The members of the Commission shall serve for the life 
of the Commission.
    (d) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the 
manner in which the original appointment was made.
    (e) Political Affiliation.--Not more than 4 members of the 
Commission may be of the same political party.

SEC. 4. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out 
this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, take 
testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers 
appropriate. In carrying out the preceding sentence, the Commission 
shall ensure that a substantial number of its meetings are open 
meetings, with significant opportunities for testimony from members of 
the general public.
    (b) Quorum.--Five members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings. Any member of the 
Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which 
the Commission is authorized to take under this section.

SEC. 5. REPORT AND RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Commission shall submit to the Congress a report of the 
activities of the Commission, together with a draft of--
            (1) any legislation (including technical and conforming 
        provisions) recommended by the Commission to reform the Federal 
        Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) and any 
        other laws relating to elections for Federal office; and
            (2) any proposed amendment to the Constitution recommended 
        by the Commission as necessary to reform the laws referred to 
        in paragraph (1).

SEC. 6. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION.

    In formulating its draft of legislation under section 5, the 
Commission shall consider--
            (1) the growth pattern of expenditures in elections for 
        Federal office;
            (2) the appropriateness of public financing, communications 
        vouchers, and postage subsidies with respect to elections for 
        Federal office;
            (3) the option of expenditure limitations for achieving a 
        balance of campaign resources between challengers and 
        incumbents in elections for Federal office;
            (4) possible mechanisms of enforcement with respect to 
        expenditures in elections for Federal office, including (A) 
        voluntary compliance through incentives such as direct public 
        financing, communications vouchers, and postage subsidies, and 
        (B) mandatory compliance through imposition of penalties, such 
        as taxes on excess expenditures;
            (5) the nature and extent of election related spending (for 
        party building, get-out-the-vote, and similar activities) that 
        is not currently regulated under Federal law (commonly known as 
``soft money'');
            (6) the impact of non-party multicandidate political 
        committees (commonly known as ``political action committees'') 
        on elections for Federal office;
            (7) the adequacy of existing limitations on the 
        contributions and activities of such committees, as well as the 
        adequacy of existing limitations on the contributions and 
        activities of individuals and other persons;
            (8) the influence of independent expenditures on elections 
        for Federal office, through television advertising and 
        otherwise, and the possibility of taking independent 
        expenditures into account in the computation of contribution 
        and expenditures with respect to candidates who benefit from 
        independent expenditures;
            (9) the impact of out-of-State and out-of-district 
        contributions on congressional elections; and
            (10) such other matters as are consistent with the purposes 
        of the Commission under section 2.

SEC. 7. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES.

    (a) Rules of House of Representatives and Senate.--This section is 
enacted by the Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they 
        shall be considered as part of the rules of each House, 
        respectively, or of that House to which they specifically 
        apply, and such rules shall supersede other rules only to the 
        extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to such 
        House) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent 
        as in the case of any other rule of that House.
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term ``Federal 
election bill'' means only a bill (or joint resolution, in the case of 
a proposed amendment to the Constitution) of either House of Congress 
which is introduced as provided in subsection (c) to carry out the 
recommendations of the Commission as set forth in the draft of 
legislation referred to in section 5.
    (c) Introduction and Referral.--Within 3 days after the Commission 
submits its draft legislation under section 5, a Federal election bill 
shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the majority leader of 
the House and shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the 
majority leader of the Senate. Such bills shall be referred to the 
appropriate committees.
    (d) Amendments Prohibited.-- No amendment to a Federal election 
bill shall be in order in either the House of Representatives or the 
Senate; and no motion to suspend the application of this subsection 
shall be in order in either House; nor shall it be in order in either 
House to entertain a request to suspend the application of this 
subsection by unanimous consent.
    (e) Period for Committee and Floor Consideration.--
            (1) If the committee of either House to which a Federal 
        election bill has been referred has not reported it at the 
        close of the 20th day after its introduction, such committee 
        shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of 
        the bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. If 
        prior to the passage by one House of a Federal election bill of 
        that House, that House receives the same Federal election bill 
        from the other House, then--
                    (A) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no Federal election bill had been received from 
                the other House; but
                    (B) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                Federal election bill of the other House.
            (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in computing a number of 
        days in either House, there shall be excluded the days on which 
        that House is not in session because of an adjournment of more 
        than 3 days to a day certain or an adjournment of the Congress 
        sine die.
    (f) Floor Consideration in the House.--
            (1) A motion in the House of Representatives to proceed to 
        the consideration of a Federal election bill shall be highly 
        privileged except that a motion to proceed to consider may only 
        be made on the second legislative day after the calendar day on 
        which the Member making the motion announces to the House his 
        intention to do so. The motion to proceed to consider is not 
        debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, 
        nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by 
        which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
            (2) Consideration of a Federal election bill in the House 
        of Representatives shall be in the House with debate limited to 
        not more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between 
        those favoring and those opposing the bill. The previous 
        question on the Federal election bill shall be considered as 
        ordered to final passage without intervening motion. It shall 
        not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which a 
        Federal election bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
            (3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 
        the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to 
        the procedure relating to a Federal election bill shall be 
        decided without debate.
    (g) Floor Consideration in the Senate.--
            (1) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the consideration 
        of a Federal election bill shall be privileged and not 
        debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, 
        nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by 
        which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
            (2) Debate in the Senate on a Federal election bill, and 
        all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
        shall be limited to not more than 10 hours. The time shall be 
        equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader 
        and the minority leader or their designees.
            (3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal 
        in connection with a Federal election bill shall be limited to 
        not more than 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the mover and the manager of the bill, except 
        that in the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any 
        such motion or appeal, the time in opposition thereto, shall be 
        controlled by the minority leader or his designee. Such 
        leaders, or either of them, may, from time under their control 
        on the passage of a Federal election bill, allot additional 
        time to any Senator during the consideration of any debatable 
        motion or appeal.
            (4) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate is not 
        debatable. A motion to recommit a Federal election bill is not 
        in order.

SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Pay and Travel Expenses of Members.--(1) Each member of the 
Commission, other than the Chairman, shall be paid at a rate equal to 
the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level 
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the 
member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the 
Commission. The Chairman shall be paid for each day referred to in the 
preceding sentence at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
    (2) Members of the Commission shall receive travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 
5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
    (b) Staff Director.--The Commission shall, without regard to 
section 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code, appoint a staff 
director, who shall be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level 
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    (c) Staff.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Director, with the 
approval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of additional 
personnel.
    (2) The Director may make such appointments without regard to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 
the competitive service, and any personnel so appointed may be paid 
without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed may not 
receive pay in excess of the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable 
for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, 
United States Code.
    (d) Details.--Upon request of the Director, the head of any Federal 
department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 
personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to assist the 
Commission in carrying out its duties under this Act.
    (e) Experts and Consultants.--The Commission may procure by 
contract the temporary or intermittent services of experts or 
consultants pursuant to section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

    The Commission shall cease to exist 3 months after the date of the 
submission of its report under section 5.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums 
as are necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.
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